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'No items of concern' found in suspicious package at North Hudson Village Hall

According to a statement released by the North Hudson Police Department, a suspicious package was found at the Village Hall (400 Seventh St. N.) at approximately 7:30 a.m. Monday, Oct. 8. The Marathon-Oneida County Bomb Squad cleared the package and the scene was declared safe at 1:36 p.m. Rebecca Mariscal / RiverTown Multimedia

According to a statement released by the North Hudson Police Department, a suspicious package was found at Village Hall (400 Seventh St. N.) at approximately 7:30 a.m. Monday, Oct. 8. After calling in the St. Croix County Sheriff's Department and the Marathon-Oneida County Bomb Squad, the package was cleared and the scene rendered safe at 1:36 p.m.

Public Works Director Patrick Moos was the first on the scene and located the suspicious package, a black backpack, on the sidewalk near the emergency vehicle parking spaces. Moos notified Police Chief Mark Richert, who was off-duty, and was instructed to contact the St. Croix County Emergency Communications Center to have a sheriff's deputy respond to assess the item. Moos stayed on scene to make sure the backpack wasn't disturbed as other employees arrived at Village Hall.

The Marathon-Oneida County Bomb Squad requested the building be evacuated and immediate neighbors to the Village Hall notified. Barricades were set up by public works employees to close the 400 block of Seventh Street North to through traffic and the Village Hall was evacuated. Nearby residents were told to either evacuate or stay in a lower level of their home.

Johnson and Richert monitored the scene until the bomb squad arrived, whose arrival prompted the closing of St. Croix Street North from Sixth Street North to the 700 block of St. Croix Street North. According to the release, the backpack was cleared by technicians and the scene rendered safe at 1:36 p.m., which is also when neighboring residents were notified of the all clear. No items of concern were located inside the backpack and the bomb squad determined that no explosive materials were inside.

According to Richert, it is still unclear how the backpack arrived on the sidewalk, but the owner of the backpack was located and questioned. There is no threat to the public at this time.

The North Hudson Police Department urges everyone to contact them if they see suspicious items or witness suspicious activity.

Jordan Willi is a reporter for the New Richmond News. Previously, he worked as a sports reporter at the Worthington Daily Globe in Worthington, Minnesota. He also interned at the Hudson Star Observer for two summers and contributed to the Bison Illustrated sports magazine at North Dakota State University.